by Mike Telin
Is it possible to get too much of The Romeros? Apparently not. For 65 years the venerable guitar quartet, known as “The Royal Family of the Guitar,” has been captivating audiences around the globe with their signature flamenco style, impeccable ensemble, and richly hued sound.
by Mike Telin
“He was such a powerful romantic guy who wrote beautiful poems,” Celino Romero said, recalling his grandfather Celedonio Romero, who with his sons Celin, Pepe, and Angel founded the legendary guitar quartet The Romeros 60 years ago.
On Sunday, November 18 at 2:30 pm in Finney Chapel, “The Royal Family of the Guitar” will return to Northeast Ohio for a concert on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series. The program will include works by Albéniz, de Falla, Villa-Lobos, Granados, and both Celedonio and Pepe Romero. Tickets are available online.
“60 years, isn’t that crazy?” Celino Romero said by telephone from his home in San Diego. “It blows my mind. But what really blew my mind was when I realized that I have been in the quartet one year longer than my uncle Angel was. When I started in 1990 it was my grandfather, my uncle Pepe, my father Celin, and myself. When my grandfather got sick in ‘95, Angel’s son Lito — who was already playing a lot with his father — joined the group.”
by Daniel Hathaway
On October 14 in Finney Chapel, Canadian violinist James Ehnes took Oberlin’s 1722 Stradivarius on the first public outing since its complete restoration. Leavening distinguished playing with laid-back humor, his splendid recital with pianist Andrew Armstrong on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series put the famous fiddle through its paces in music by Beethoven, Ravel, Brahms, and John Corigliano. It was a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Without a doubt, James Ehnes is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. “How are you today, thanks for calling,” the Canadian violinist said, answering his cell phone in Nashville. “I’m really looking forward to getting back to Oberlin. And of course, under these special circumstances with the unveiling of this violin, it’s going to be a nice occasion.”
On Sunday, October 14 at 2:30 pm in Finney Chapel, James Ehnes will make a return visit to the Oberlin Artist Recital Series along with pianist Andrew Armstrong. Their program will feature the earliest published works by Beethoven, Ravel, Brahms, and Corigliano. And the “unveiling of this violin” he mentioned refers to the recently restored 1722 ‘ex-Vallot’ Stradivarius instrument owned by Oberlin, on which he’ll be performing. Tickets are available online.
Sunday’s concert will mark the first public hearing of the ‘ex-Vallot’ in nearly two decades, and since its complete restoration by the Chicago-based restorer John K. Becker. Ehnes’ invitation to perform on the instrument came from the conservatory’s long-time professor of violin Marilyn McDonald, who has known Ehnes since his teenage years, when he spent his summers performing at the Peninsula Music Festival in Wisconsin. “I think I’ve known Marilyn for over 20 years,” Ehnes recalled. “She’s a special woman and it’s always nice to spend time with her.” [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Last Thursday evening at The Cleveland Orchestra’s season opener in Severance Hall, music director Franz Welser-Möst was honored with the Orchestra’s twenty-third annual Distinguished Service Award. On Friday, an uncommonly hot evening for September, he deserved a medal for leading the ensemble in full concert dress while his colleagues played in shirtsleeves in Oberlin’s steamy Finney Chapel, surely one of the only major concert halls in Northeast Ohio not to offer climate control. (Photo from an earlier performance). [Read more…]
by David Kulma
Most famous orchestral composers are people who either conduct or listen to orchestras rather than play in them. But there is a small cohort of professional orchestra musicians who step into the composer spotlight.
After attending organ school, and before becoming a well-known composer, Antonín Dvořák served as a violist in the orchestra of the Bohemian Provisional Theater for a few years. Carl Nielsen sat in the second violin section of the Royal Danish Opera until he was 40, playing the first performances of some of his own works.
Jeffrey Rathbun, now beginning his 29th season as assistant principal oboe with The Cleveland Orchestra, also fits into this mold. His Pantheon, commissioned by the Orchestra for its centennial celebrations, will be premiered this weekend.
by David Kulma
A captivating art song recital lit up Finney Chapel on Tuesday, April 17. For this installment of Oberlin’s Artist Recital Series, the Canadian bill of bass-baritone Gerald Finley and pianist Michael McMahon explored well-chosen sets of works by Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
During his celebrated career, Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley has sung all the major baritone roles from Mozart to Mark Anthony Turnage. His orchestral and recital appearances have taken him to concert stages throughout the world. In 2014 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2017. And, in August of 2014 he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
One thing Finley has not done is to perform in Northeast Ohio — that is until now. “The Cleveland Orchestra has been persistent about trying to find a time for us to work together, and it’s just never worked out.” Finley said during a telephone conversation from London. “Franz (Welser-Möst) is a close colleague since my time in Vienna and Salzburg, so I am absolutely thrilled to come to the area.”
On Tuesday, April 17 8:00 pm in Finney Chapel, the Oberlin Artist Recital Series will present Gerald Finley and pianist Michael McMahon, in a program that will include Goethe Lieder by Beethoven and Schubert and Romances by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. [Read more…]
by David Kulma
On the night of Good Friday, as the Brentano Quartet filled Oberlin’s Finney Chapel with shimmering sound, a question came to mind: what is the essence of a madrigal? Put simply, a madrigal is an Italian Renaissance form for voices full of musical effects that paint clear tonal pictures of the words being sung. More complexly, a madrigal is so shaped by its text that it constantly molds itself into new forms like Descartes’ philosophical ball of wax.
by Jarrett Hoffman
The Brentano String Quartet has an affinity for both the standard repertoire and music very old and very new. Their program on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series at Finney Chapel on Friday, March 30 at 8:00 pm covers all those bases. Beginning with arrangements of madrigals by Monteverdi and Gesualdo, they’ll jump 400 years to the music of Oberlin Conservatory composition chair Stephen Hartke, then close with Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 12 in D-flat.
Among the Brentano’s many honors, violinists Serena Canin and Mark Steinberg, violist Misha Amory, and cellist Nina Lee celebrated the Quartet’s “silver anniversary” — 25 years — in 2017.
“Our friendship has been the real sine qua non for continuing as a long-term quartet,” Amory wrote in an email while the Quartet was in Spain. “It is possible that we spend as much time with each other as we do with our own families, which without our love and esteem for one another would be a tough proposition. We are not a group that would thrive well on a business-based type of arrangement, where we would meet for rehearsals and concerts but otherwise have nothing to do with each other.”